Alexander Zverev reaches semifinals at US Open and overtakes Boris Becker

Alexander Zverev has reached the semi-finals at the US Open. The Hamburg resident defeated Dutch outsider Botic van de Zandschulp 6:2, 7:5, 6:1. This means he only needs two wins for his first triumph in New York.

"I'm happy to be in the semi-finals, but of course I want to go further," said Zverev in an interview on the pitch. For the French Open winner it was the 23rd victory this season at a Grand Slam tournament. In doing so, he overtook the previous German record set by Boris Becker, who achieved 22 wins in one season.

Zverev's clear and consistent performance was enough against van de Zandschulp. The strong server scored a lot of points at the net, and especially in long rallies he could usually rely on his opponent's mistakes. Against the tennis world number 70. Zverev only came under pressure in the second round.

»He did what he had to do. A good horse only jumps as high as it has to,” said Becker on Sporteurope.TV. Zverev, who is the top seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, only needed a little more than two hours to win the quarterfinals.

Zverev is considered the favorite for the title

The Hamburger caused a smile at the break. Zverev appeared to complain to the British referee that he was missing a bat. After a while he found it in his own pocket.

After Spain's top star Alcaraz lost to the American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, Zverev is now the big favorite of the tournament. This also applies to the duel with the next opponent Karen Khachanow on Friday. The world number 50. had benefited from his injury-related retirement when the score was 6:2, 7:5, 3:2 against the Belgian Alexander Blockx.

Khachanow was already in the top four in New York in 2022, but has never made it to the final of a Grand Slam tournament. On the way to the 2021 Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, Zverev beat the Russian in the final.